Minimochrysa latialata, Jepson & Makarkin, 2023

Minimochrysa latialata sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:36FE8A47-EF3A-4718-8374-1DE02063E5FE

Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2

Type material. Holotype USNM PAL 622725 , deposited in USNM. A distal part of a forewing .

Type locality and horizon. Middle Fork of the Flathead River , between Paola and Stanton Creeks approximately 17 miles south of West Glacier; the Coal Creek Member of the Kishenehn Formation, north-western Montana, U.S.A. The Middle Eocene (Lutetian).

Etymology. From the Latin latus , broad, and ala, wing, in reference to broad distal part of the forewing (broadly-rounded apically).

Description. Forewing 2.5 mm long as preserved (estimated complete length ca. 4.5–5.0 mm), 1.4 mm wide as preserved. Forewing broadly rounded apically. Costal space with 12 preserved simple crossveins, narrowing distally. No crossveins present in subcostal space. Sc long terminating well before apex of wing. RA long almost reaching apex of the wing. Radial space wide with eight regularly spaced ra-rp crossveins preserved. RP with eight preserved branches, majority simple, four forked distally near wing margin. RP crossveins forming two gradate series. Basal portion of wing not preserved.

Remarks. Minimochrysa latialata sp. nov. is the smallest known chrysopid species. The species of the smallest extant genera have a minimum forewing length of 6 mm, e.g., the chrysopine Suarius Navás, 1914 and the nothochrysine Kimochrysa Tjeder, 1966 ( Brooks & Barnard 1990). The smallest known fossil chrysopid species Pseudochrysopa harveyi Makarkin & Archibald, 2013 from the early Eocene Driftwood Canyon ( Canada) with a minimum forewing length of ca. 8.2 mm is nearly twice as long as the new species ( Makarkin & Archibald 2013).